Description

Overview:

Last month, biologists announced the discovery of hybrid sharks in Australian waters. The new sharks may not warrant a marine park attraction they look much like their closely-related parent species but do represent an unexpected twist of biology and evolution. This is the first time that scientists have found evidence of shark hybridization an event that was thought to be rare because, unlike the many fish that simply release eggs and sperm into the water, sharks mate. Clearly, though, the widely-distributed common blacktip shark and the Australian blacktip shark (which is restricted to northern and eastern Australia) have few qualms about each other: 57 apparently healthy hybrid individuals were discovered in the first investigation of these animals. What does this mean for the future evolution of blacktip sharks?

Subject:

Biology

Level:

High School, Community College / Lower Division, College / Upper Division

Material Type:

Diagram/Illustration, Reading

Provider:

University of California Museum of Paleontology

Provider Set:

Understanding Evolution

Date Added:

02/01/2012